Julia Fischer @ 6th and I

Poème (Chausson et al.), J. Fischer Paganini, 24 Caprices, J. Fischer [Review]

Of all the violinists performing today, Julia Fischer is the one we most want to hear. The German violinist may not have the strongest bow arm, the fastest left hand, or the most daring interpretation, but she has the most compelling sound, a consistently seductive tone, nearly flawless intonation and execution, and an Apollonian grace. It goes without saying that Fischer's recital on Saturday night, presented by Washington Performing Arts Society at the 6th and I Historic Synagogue, was a cultural imperative. While not without its troubles -- mechanical and tuning issues with the piano in the first half, a few rare infelicities in Fischer's sound (proving she does walk the earth after all), and a perfectly timed, disastrous cell phone ring that likely spoiled the recording being made for Sirius/XM Radio -- it was well worth the wait to hear Fischer again, returning to the area for the first time since appearing with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 2009 (not counting the 2010 WPAS recital she had to cancel).

Opening a first-half pairing of Austrian music was a tender, almost rhapsodic reading of Mozart's B♭ major violin sonata, K. 454. The fast movements were plenty fast, revealing Ukrainian pianist Milana Chernyavska and her agile, clean touch at the keyboard to be a fine match for Fischer. The slow movement had a leisurely elegance, with a rueful turn to minor, while the closing movement, in a chipper duple pulse, had a blithe, tripping quality. The Mozart overshadowed Schubert's Rondo brillant in B Minor, D. 895, that followed it, a piece that even the strong musicianship on hand could not quite validate. Fischer and her accompanist gave the melting aria in the middle a melancholy tinge and some dramatic turns elsewhere, but it does go on. It confirmed my feelings about Fischer's recordings of the Schubert violin pieces -- and the pieces themselves, in some cases -- as less than captivating.

Other Reviews: Anne Midgette, Violinist Julia Fischer shows both focus and range in Sixth and I Synagogue recital (Washington Post, February 20) Larry Fuchsberg, Violinist's sound fills the Ordway Center (Minneapolis Star Tribune, February 17) Rob Hubbard, Violinist Julia Fischer dazzles with Debussy range in Schubert Club recital (Twin Cities Pioneer Press, February 15)

More pleasing was the all-French second half, beginning with Debussy's violin sonata in G minor, completed shortly before the composer's death in 1918 and as ingenious and compact as it is steeped in tragic contemplation of mortality and war. The first movement, harmonically unpredictable, was mercurial but also had a translucent kind of tone, watercolor swishes with some vivid flourishes. A puckish wit, with flexible rubato perfectly aligned between the two players, came out in the second movement, with a slow transition into the dizzying third movement, living up to its "very animated" tempo marking in every way. The enigmatic Debussy, a memorable piece played memorably, was followed by a brazen showpiece, Saint-Saëns's first violin sonata, op. 75. Chernyavska shone even more brightly here, giving agitated fervor to the devilish piano part, transparent and effortlessly shapely in spite of the torrents of notes. The Adagio part of the first movement rose out of the turmoil, a gentle dance, leading to an impish waltz in the third movement, with an elegant melodic overlay in the violin in the trio. Both musicians created a thrilling conclusion by taking the final section at a daring speed, pushing the edge of safety.

This full meal was capped by three encores, none of them expected chestnuts, beginning with a nod to the venue's beginnings as a synagogue, Ernst Bloch's Nigun, the second movement of Baal Shem, an impassioned cantillation. Piling on the diversions, Fischer followed it with Tchaikovsky's Mélodie, op. 42/3, from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, and an Andante movement by Eugène Ysaÿe, composed as the slow movement of an abandoned concerto.

The next WPAS recital will feature pianist Yefim Bronfman (March 2, 8 pm), in the Music Center at Strathmore.

Capricious Paganini

Paganini, 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, J. Fischer (released on September 7, 2010) Decca 478 2274 | 79'28" Online scores: Paganini, op. 1

The 24 Caprices by Niccolò Paganini are a mountain traversed only by the greatest violinists. That they are not exactly engaging listening has relegated them mostly to the status of show-off encore pieces, and they would not merit a place among my recommendations for music that one needs to own. Violinists and aficionados of the instrument, of course, will likely want to own a set of the Caprices -- both to admire the player and dissect his or her faults, to be sure. That is what distinguishes these virtuosic works -- basically études with a healthy dollop of Romantic mustard -- from Bach's solo violin pieces, which may not require as much technical flash, while still being damn difficult, but are much more musically rewarding.

Julia Fischer did not really have anything to prove as a virtuoso, having recently added to her many exploits on the violin some recordings as a pianist, including an upcoming recording featuring herself as soloist in both Saint-Saëns' third violin and Grieg's piano concerto. Needless to say, she acquits herself admirably in her new Paganini disc, giving as much musical interest to the Caprices as one could reasonably expect, as in no. 4's rather gorgeous melancholy Maestoso section in thirds and the rustling tremolo of no. 6 fluttering around a subdued, utterly smooth melody. The technique is not without shortcomings -- like some rather dicey intonation in fast thirds -- but Fischer's E string stratosphere is assured, as in no. 8, and in no. 16 she produces a fairly flawless rush of notes, as well as Mephistophelean chromatic movement in no. 10 (one of my favorites) and pleasing tonal effects like the imitation of paired flutes and horns in no. 9.

Mercifully, Fischer does not observe some of the repeats in Paganini's manuscript, skipping one in no. 7, for example, while observing one in no. 13, then taking a repeat that is struck out in no. 14 -- many of the repeats in the manuscript appear to have been removed by the composer, certainly giving an interpreter freedom to repeat or not as she wants. No. 24 is the best and, not surprisingly, most famous piece of the set, a dastardly set of variations that have been expanded on by countless other composers. When judging a complete recording like this one, it can save one a lot of time to turn immediately to the final track: Fischer's performance is a jaw-dropping tour de force, the best part of this disc. See Fischer's thoughts on playing the Caprices in this video interview.

Paganini, 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, J. Ehnes (released on January 12, 2010) Onyx 4044 | 78'04"

We have been impressed with the playing of James Ehnes many times before, and while he does not always win in every competition of the technical mano-a-mano with Fischer, his recording comes out on top overall. The ricochet bowing of no. 1 ("L'Arpeggio," shown above in the composer's manuscript) is clearer and stronger, the intonation is much cleaner in general, especially in multiple stops, although Fischer wins out in purity of the upper reaches of the E string, where Ehnes can be shrill. Furthermore, there is an almost Gypsy fiddler flair to the playing: more portamento and a throatier, rawer tone that makes Fischer's performance seem almost polite and pretty, a criticism that came to mind when listening to her Bach, too. Ehnes even manages to find interest in the endless octaves of no. 3, no. 7, and many others, which are often pretty boring as played by Fischer, and the section entirely on the G string in no. 19 has an appealing viola-like bark to it. Ehnes takes many of the pieces in fast tempi at an appreciably more rapid pace, although he manages to shave only a little over a minute off Fischer's overall timing.

For some reason Ehnes has returned to Paganini's Caprices after a first recording of the set for Telarc (2003, now heavily discounted), but I cannot comment on it, having never heard it. For that matter Thomas Zehetmair has also recently recorded the complete Caprices, a disc released last summer by ECM: I haven't heard it either, although he also recorded the pieces once before, for Teldec in 2002. If that is still not enough Paganini for you, there is also a new recording by Philippe Quint of Kreisler's arrangements of the Caprices for violin and piano (Naxos), which also has yet to reach my ears.

More of Julia Fischer's Schubert

Schubert, Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2, J. Fischer, M. Helmchen (released on April 27, 2010) PentaTone PTC 5186 348 | 67'04" Online scores: D. 574 (op. posth. 162) | D. 934 (op. posth. 159) | D. 940 (op. 103)

The first volume of Schubert's works for violin and piano from Julia Fischer and Martin Helmchen struck my ears as lovely but not essential listening, ranking below the Schubert disc by Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr on historical instruments. This is not for lack of regard for Julia Fischer, whose cancellation of an April 3 concert this past spring was a bitter disappointment, although Joseph Lin should be applauded for stepping in to play the same program of three of the Bach solo violin works. The problem was certainly not Martin Helmchen either, who is shaping up to be one of my favorite Schubert players. While I would still favor Manze/Egarr over the first volume of Fischer/Helmchen (only if there is room for only one of them on your shelf -- why not have both if you can?), this second volume has enough to recommend itself as a companion to either of those discs. If paired with Manze/Egarr, you would end up with two performances of the last violin sonata (D. 574, A major) and no Rondo brillant (only on Fischer's Vol. 1). What you get with Fischer's Vol. 2, however, is the C major fantasia (D. 934, op. posth. 159), a delightful piece in a restrained, mysterious performance. The theme of the Andantino movement recalls harmonic progression of Schubert's Rückert song Sei mir gegrüßt (vi, V/vi shifting chromatically back to V), and the variations introduce some startling rhythmic effects, not least the almost tango-like syncopations in the pianist's left hand of the second variation. There is one other unusual point about this CD, which ends with the lagniappe of the F minor fantasy for piano, four hands -- featuring Helmchen with none other than Julia Fischer (not sure who is primo and who secondo). She has studied the piano as well as the violin, but this was the first time she has made a recording as a pianist. The result is not as good as Evgeny Kissin and James Levine's live performance of this gorgeous work, but as a curiosity well worth a listen.

Julia Fischer Embarks on Schubert

Schubert, Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 1, J. Fischer, M. Helmchen (released on September 29, 2009) PentaTone PTC 5186 347 Online scores: Three Sonatinas for Violin and Piano (op. 137) | Rondo Brillant (D. 895)

Under most circumstances a new recording from Julia Fischer would recommend itself. Her latest project for PentaTone, the first half of a projected two-disc set of Schubert's music for violin and piano, arrived on my desk with the memory of the Schubert recording by Andrew Manze and Richard Egarr still fresh in my ears. Indeed, comparison to that disc, made on an early 19th-century violin and pianoforte, is inevitable in that Fischer's first volume, made on her 1742 Guadagnini violin and a Steinway played by Martin Helmchen, features almost the same selection of early pieces (with only the Rondo Brillant, D. 895, replacing the A major sonata, D. 574). Certainly, it would be wrong-headed to prefer the Manze-Egarr recording only because they played the works on historical instruments in an attempt to grapple with the sounds that Schubert had at hand. The problem for me is that the sound they made, its delicacy and transparency, quickly became the standard for these works, at least in my ears.

If pressed to recommend a single recording of these works to own, my tendency would be still to go with Manze-Egarr. That being said, Julia Fischer is the better violinist and she and Helmchen form a solid team in terms of ensemble unity. His discs for PentaTone are my first experience hearing him play, although I have been reading about him lately -- some more thoughts about the way he plays Schubert shortly. Both he and Fischer often restrain their sound as if in imitation of 19th-century instruments, just without the occasional clunkiness and odd intonation. The greater facility is quite noticeable, with those movement timings that are not basically the same as Manze-Egarr's being considerably shorter. For a listener not interested in a period instrument performance, this is a lovely disc to own, not least for the pristine sound (and the discounted price at Amazon at the moment, for an SACD, doesn't hurt). Even if you already own the Manze-Egarr disc, this would make an excellent modern instrument alternative, or perhaps you would want to match that disc with Fischer's second volume, which will reportedly also feature her playing the piano (which she does quite well by all reports), on the F minor fantasy for four hands (D. 940) with Helmchen.

64'31"

Ionarts-at-Large: Kreizberg & Julia Fischer

Julia Fischer, one of the great violinists of her generation, has long reached the level of fame and attraction where it doesn’t matter in the least what she plays, so long as she does play. And she will fill halls, even with a work that has neither a lobby nor a strong reputation. Like the Dvořák Violin Concerto which she performed with the Munich Philharmonic on June 22^nd and 23^rd.

Dvořák, Violin Concerto, "Dumky" Trio, Isabelle Faust (Queyras, Melnikov) / Prague Philharmonic / Belohlavek

It is only right that a violinist like Julia Fischer play this work, a conductor like Yakov Kreizberg conduct it, and an orchestra like the Munich Philharmonic play it – because in these hands the work has every opportunity to shine. In lesser hands it would merely reinforce the modest opinions many listeners have of it.

That was, incidentally, exactly what happened. Explosive, with plenty enthusiasm and undeterred by individual mistakes, the orchestra followed Kreizberg (whose brother had been much in Munich, recently) into the score while Mlle. Fischer executed her part with the expected skill and grace. With subtle tension – especially in the lyrical parts of the Adagio – with elegance and filigree playing she turned the concerto, Cinderella-like, from musical pumpkin into vehicle worthy of a princess. At least for 35 minutes. The Finale especially, Brahmsian in its bohemian folkish rhythm and melody, is a firework of color and exuberance. Who could care about accusations of the work lacking depth when faced with something quite so enjoyable? Julia Fischer’s Paganini encores – Caprices no.10 and 2 – were not much more than glorified finger exercises, the latter, in b-minor, at least with musical merit.

Tchaikovsky, Manfred Symphony, Symphonic Poems, Russian National Orchestra / Michail Pletnev

Bass clarinets and bassoons get their 15 minutes of fame in Tchaikovsky’s Manfred Symphony – Tchaikovsky’s fifth, had he included it in his canon of symphonies. While the Dvořák concerto may be well served by a good interpretation alone, the Manfred Symphony, though easy enough on the ears, is a more demanding work. It can baffle even as it delights – incomprehension does not bar enjoyment. It is good to know Byron’s dramatic poem that Tchaikovsky puts into music – and how. But the Manfred Symphony could also be taken as absolute music – a four movement symphonic work, strange and phantastical.

If so, the third movement Pastorale would surely raise the fewest question marks: It’s a beautiful and dainty affair, undermined only (and not much) by the Manfred theme that rears its head and the bells that till as if to remind that the carefree episode will come to a grim end, soon. The fourth movement was perfectly musical mayhem and positive chaos under Kreizberg. How better to depict a civilized hell than Tchaikovsky does here? And yet the question comes up: ‘Wouldn’t it be hell, indeed, if music could only sound like this?’

Winds and horns contributed faultlessly to an concentrated but not very aromatic performance that had greater individual moments than it offered a great whole.

Julia Fischer's Latest Mozart

Available at Amazon: Mozart, Concertone, Sinfonia concertante, J. Fischer, G. Nikolić, NCO, Y. Kreizberg (released October 30, 2007) [$17.99] Download MP3 Album [$8.99]

We are on record at Ionarts as rather fond of Julia Fischer's Mozart. Her full-bodied set of Mozart concerti was appropriately scaled, not too historically informed to raise objections with most listeners. In this third volume, she collaborates again with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and conductor Yakov Kreizberg, adding in Gordan Nikolić to play second fiddle, literally, on the second violin part in the Concertone (K. 190) and viola in the Sinfonia concertante (K. 364). While Fischer, Gramophone's 2007 Artist of the Year, is as cool and polished as ever, the contributions of Nikolić and the NCO seem a little rough and not unified. These are such familiar pieces -- especially K. 364, which has been recorded commercially hundreds of times -- that one wishes for something a little less conventional. The plainness sometimes had me reaching for a version more off the beaten path instead, like the Sinfonia concertante in Harnoncourt's brash recording with Gidon Kremer and Kim Kashkashian or the recent recording by Anne-Sophie Mutter and Yuri Bashmet. Not coincidentally, both feature full-time violists on the second part.


Mozart, Sinfonia concertante, K. 364, Julia Fischer and Gordan Nikolić,
Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Yakov Kreizberg (see Part 2)
While the tempi of the second and third movements of the Sinfonia concertante are roughly comparable to generally selected conventions, the first movement is on the fast side of Allegro maestoso, ending up with about a minute shaved off even from Harnoncourt's timing. This produces some excitement by making it impossible to predict what is going to happen with the ensemble, but the overall effect after a couple listenings is mostly just agitation. Fischer is radiant in the short but sweet Rondo for Violin and Orchestra, K. 373, complete with her own reserved cadenza. Nikolić is a stronger foil for her in the K. 190 Concertone, with lovely support from oboist Hans Meyer and cellist Herre Jan Stegenga. A worthy recording, if not essential: if you liked her two volumes of Mozart concerti (and you should), you will need this disc to complete the set.

Pentatone PTC 5186 098

Julia Fischer on Disc:

Bach, Sonatas / Partitas

Glazunov, Khachaturian, Prokofiev, Violin Concertos

Mozart, Violin Concertos 1,2&5

Mozart, Violin Concertos 3&4

Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto

Julia Fischer and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic

Washington Performing Arts Society’s presentation of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and Julia Fischer, Gramophone’s new Artist of the Year, was indeed memorable. At the Kennedy Center on Tuesday night, Yuri Temirkanov provided Fischer support in the Beethoven Violin Concerto by neither allowing textures to become overly heavy nor fast. With sparklingly clear tone and a fast, narrow vibrato, Fischer acted as an extension of the exceptionally earthy string sound supplied by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. However, in the first movement (Allegro non troppo), Fischer’s intonation was near the limit of being too high. Each of the concerto’s three movements contained satisfying motifs that were repeated three times, either expanding upward or, in the case of the third movement, containing two repetitions with a tail. Fischer’s phrasing possessed lots of fantasy by using both dynamics and time to exploit this material – the orchestra followed her every step of the way. Indeed, the orchestra and conductor appeared to be listening equally as much as playing. Fischer’s chords in the final cadenza locked remarkably well.

Other Reviews: Tim Smith, The Temirkanov Touch (Baltimore Sun, October 25) Robert Battey, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, A Program of High Notes (Washington Post, October 25) Jens F. Laurson, Setting the Perfect Tone: Julia Fischer with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (Ionarts, May 26, 2006)

Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 (1945) provided Temirkanov a platform for more creative conducting, as what had been observed prior to it were mainly large horizontal gestures. Thus, the wry Russian humor and pointed clarinet solos of the second movement (Allegro marcato) stood out, while the third movement’s stern, cold Adagio character warmed up – perhaps by passing around a bottle of vodka – near the end of the movement and became sentimental. The final movement’s positive theme (Allegro giacoso) flipped around in an amusing way while the entire symphony ended with the entire ensemble in a bright, upward run. The ensemble virtuously never sounded loud, just powerfully full and wide.

The audience was treated to a well-orchestrated encore by Elgar. One wishes success to the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, especially since, according to a Russian friend, not so long ago its musicians were rarely paid.

The next concert sponsored by WPAS is a recital by Murray Perahia (October 28, at Strathmore), which inaugurates the new Piano Masters series.

Julia Fischer on Disc:

Bach, Sonatas / Partitas

Glazunov, Khachaturian, Prokofiev, Violin Concertos

Mozart, Violin Concertos 1,2&5

Mozart, Violin Concertos 3&4

Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto

Ionarts ♥ Julia Fischer

You may have read the news that Julia Fischer was chosen to receive the 2007 Artist of the Year award by Gramophone. Ironically, at just 24 years old, she is 7 years younger than the winner of the Young Artist of the Year award, conductor Vasily Petrenko. To celebrate, here is a look back at some of the fawning things we have written about the sound of Fischer's violin here at Ionarts.

Jens F. Laurson, Khachaturian Concerto with the NSO (March 16, 2007):

Her playing is neither showy nor ever-pushing emotional boundaries; it convinces by sheer quality and that air of irreproachability that lends, if anything, a cool touch to her tone. It was, especially in the Andante sostenuto, of such beauty that it had to be admired, even if not necessarily fallen in love with. [...] With performances like this one, or last year’s with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (in the Beethoven concerto with Temirkanov conducting), she is well on her way to becoming one of the world’s foremost violinists. The chance to hear her should not be missed.

Charles T. Downey, Recording of Tchaikovsky Concerto (January 4, 2007):

Once again, Julia Fischer has exceeded expectations. [Her] technique is ferocious, heard in spades live and in recordings, and the fire in her playing on this disc is unquenchable, especially in the concerto's third movement (Finale: Allegro vivacissimo). However, what really stands out after repeated listening is the subtlety of her soft playing, as in the eerily ethereal cadenza to the first movement (Allegro moderato), and the admirable taste in how she crafts each movement with daring strength and spidery grace.

CTD, Recording of Mozart Concerti (November 16, 2006):

[S]he has composed her own cadenzas and added her own ornamentation (in the booklet, she shares credit for their composition with Yakov Kreizberg). On a purely technical level, Julia Fischer is on par with the more experienced Anne-Sophie Mutter. However, this recording provides what Jens found lacking in Mutter's performances, in which technical flair seemed "blatant and gratuitous virtuosity in a work that has natural beauty to offer" (as Jens described Mutter's reading of no. 4). Fischer's playing is guileless, which is certainly not to say unsensitive or square.

JFL, Beethoven Concerto with the BSO (May 26, 2006):

[Fischer] is building her career judiciously, step by step with great care, some well-applied self-restraint, and what seems an immaculate intellectual grasp. This was an example of 45 minutes of music-making as it should be – and the audience sensed it: the longest standing ovation and sustained applause (did anyone at all sneak out into intermission?) I have witnessed at Meyerhoff Hall forced an encore out of her: Paganini’s Caprice No. 2 in B Minor; delicately sawed out of the musical material if perhaps not ideally prepared.

CTD, Recording of the Solo Bach Works (November 17, 2005):

For a consistently beautiful tone production, you would be better off buying the Julia Fischer recording. [T]he youthful idealism of the recording -- and the rich tone of Fischer's 1750 Guadagnini violin -- hooked me.

You will have the chance to hear Julia Fischer later this month, when she appears with Yuri Temirkanov and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in a concert at the Kennedy Center, sponsored by Washington Performing Arts Society (October 23, 8 pm). She will play the Beethoven violin concerto -- will it be a repeat of her stunning performance of that work with the BSO? You have to be there to find out. Tickets remain.

More Great Violin Playing with the NSO: Julia Fischer & Khachaturian

Bernstein, Early American Recordings & Lectures J. S. Bach, Sonatas & Partitas Glazunov, Khachaturian, Prokofiev, Violin Concertos W. A. Mozart, Violin Concertos 3&4 W. A. Mozart, Violin Concertos 1,2&5 P.I.Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto

In a month that is particularly strong in violinists gracing Washington, Julia Fischer, the National Symphony Orchestra’s second such offering after the sublime Leonidas Kavakos, enjoyed a much better turnout in the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall on Thursday night than the Greek/Finnish team from last week – and that despite heavy rain and consequent heavy traffic. The attendees were rewarded with a chiseled, pristine rendition of the Khachaturian Violin Concerto. A repeated buzzing in the vigorous opening aside (interpretive choice?), Mlle. Fischer fiddled her way through the concerto with the élan and clean agility she has gained a reputation for.

Her playing is neither showy nor ever-pushing emotional boundaries; it convinces by sheer quality and that air of irreproachability that lends, if anything, a cool touch to her tone. It was, especially in the Andante sostenuto, of such beauty that it had to be admired, even if not necessarily fallen in love with. It is tempting to retreat to the hackneyed label that used to be attached to Victoria Mullova: “Ice Queen”. But it’s a label as misleading as it is useless. Julia Fischer’s playing might never be called ‘gritty’ or ‘earthy’ – even in a fairly robust work like the Khachaturian concerto – but it certainly isn’t cold. Rather it is refined and concerned with making the music sound as good as it can. With performances like this one, or last year’s with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (in the Beethoven concerto with Temirkanov conducting), she is well on her way to becoming one of the world’s foremost violinists. The chance to hear her should not be missed.

Dvořák’s Symphony No.9 – long known as Symphony No.5 because he had suppressed his four earliest attempts in that genre – is America’s adopted romantic symphony and, much like his “American” String Quartet op.96 and Quintet op.97 (the “American Suite” in A Major is strangely less well known), rank high in radio play-lists and concert programs on this side of the Atlantic. The symphony might be given preferential treatment because of its title – “From the New World” – but it also happens to be a genuinely great composition of which it is difficult to tire, even upon umpteenth listening.

That there really isn’t a whole lot that’s “American” about it – Bernstein hilariously takes that myth apart in one of his 1950’s lectures (available on CD together with the performances and lectures of and about LvB Sy.#3, Tchaik.#6, Brahms #4, and Schumann #2) – has not diminished the Ninth’s popularity. The second movement’s “Goin’ home” theme, for example (played on bag-pipes during the funeral scene of “The Departed”), provided the music for the William Arms Fischer faux-spiritual, not vice versa. That the walking bass line in the same Largo (over the “Scotch snap”) is to have been derived from Jazz is an entertaining, but silly idea.

Haunting nostalgia, brazen Bohemian dances, and all the skills of good old European symphony-making are, however, included aplenty. Under Emmanuel Krivine’s careful eyes and hands, the NSO played with tenderness and devotion, force and sonority. A few incidental rough patches by the brass in the first movement were of no consequence to the fine impression the symphony left, underscoring the excellent groundwork they laid for Julia Fischer in the Khachaturian and the in turn bright and shimmering, bold and frivolous Russian Easter Overture by Rimsky-Korsakov.

Repeat performances will take place on Friday, at 1.30PM and Saturday, 8PM.

Julia Fischer's Tchaikovsky

Tchaikovsky, Violin Concerto, Sérénade mélancolique, Valse-Scherzo, Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Julia Fischer, Russian National Orchestra, Yakov Kreizberg (released on November 21, 2006)

Julia Fischer: Mozart, Violin Concertos 1/2/5, NCO, Y. Kreizberg (2006) Mendelssohn, Piano Trios, D. Müller-Schott, J. Gilad (2006) Bach, Partitas/Sonatas (2005) Mozart, Violin Concertos 3/4, NCO, Y. Kreizberg (2005) Russian Violin Concertos: Khachaturian, Glazunov, Prokofiev (2004)

Julia Fischer continues to impress in performance and recordings. With the exception of a rigorous and intellectual set of Bach partitas and sonatas (and a disc of Mendelssohn trios), she has focused her recording efforts on the great violin concerti. All of these recordings have received critical admiration, sometimes acclaim, certainly enough to make us look forward to future recordings of giants of the repertory she is currently performing but has yet to record, the Brahms concerto and especially her extraordinary Beethoven. PentaTone Classics has recently released her new disc of the Tchaikovsky concerto in the United States. As I had already read European critics raving about it, on disc and live, it was high on my list of eagerly anticipated listening. Once again, Julia Fischer has exceeded expectations.

Tchaikovsky is not a composer I seek out for regular listening. His music is technically challenging (often the benchmark in virtuoso competitions), melodically prodigious, harmonically lush in an arch-Romantic way, and colorfully descriptive (the primary model for film composers). Perhaps because of over-exposure, it sometimes bores me to tears and often leaves me feeling ambivalent. Fischer's technique is ferocious, heard in spades live and in recordings, and the fire in her playing on this disc is unquenchable, especially in the concerto's third movement (Finale: Allegro vivacissimo). However, what really stands out after repeated listening is the subtlety of her soft playing, as in the eerily ethereal cadenza to the first movement (Allegro moderato), and the admirable taste in how she crafts each movement with daring strength and spidery grace. Yakov Kreizberg, Fischer's preferred conductor for her recordings, leads the Russian National Orchestra in a fine performance behind Fischer, captured in excellent sound.

To make this disc even more attractive, Fischer and Kreizberg recorded two other major Tchaikovsky works for violin with orchestra. The Sérénade mélancolique, op. 26, is a gloomy performance, rich with shadows and occasional glimmers of light. Balancing it is the worldly Valse-Scherzo, op. 34, a lesser-known work that Tchaikovsky composed just before beginning the concerto: indeed, we might think of it as fitting into the slot of the missing dance movement in the concerto. Tchaikovsky rejected the concerto's original slow movement, in favor of the Canzonetta in the final score. He reused the material from the rejected Andante as the first movement (Méditation) of a work for violin and piano he called Souvenir d’un lieu cher. This performance, with Yakov Kreizberg off the podium and at the piano, rounds out a very fine achievement, enough to make even a Tchaikovsky skeptic like me sit up and listen.

PentaTone Classics PTC 5186 095

Julia Fischer will perform the Khachaturian violin concerto in Washington, in a set of concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra, March 15 to 17. In other American appearances this year, Julia Fischer will play the Mendelssohn concerto with Yakov Kreizberg conducting the Cincinnati Symphony (February 9 and 10), the Beethoven concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony (March 9 to 11), the Tchaikovsky concerto with the Minnesota Orchestra and Yakov Kreizberg (March 22 to 24), and the Brahms concerto with the New York Philharmonic (April 18 and 19). Is that schedule for real? Ionarts does travel, you know.

Julia Fischer and Mozart

Available at Amazon: Mozart, Violin Concertos 1/2/5, Julia Fischer, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Yakov Kreizberg (released on October 31, 2006)

Over the past few years, German violinist Julia Fischer, now 23 years old, has emerged as one of the best violinists performing today, certainly among the 20-somethings. We have had the chance to hear her play live only once, when she gave an extraordinary reading of the Beethoven violin concerto with the Baltimore Symphony last spring (Jens got to hear it twice). On recordings, she has also been impressive, with a series of discs on PentaTone Classics, of which we have reviewed her fine CD of the complete Bach works for solo violin. Her recording of Russian violin concertos won the 2005 ECHO classical award. The American release of her Tchaikovsky violin concerto, already available in Europe (see French review quoted here), is scheduled for November 28.

My translation of Jean-Louis Validire, Julia Fischer et Jonathan Gilad au Théâtre du Châtelet : Jeunesse et maturité (Le Figaro, November 14): It was a particularly rich and interesting program offered Sunday morning by Julia Fischer and Jonathan Gilad. Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, in spite of the unusual nature of this piece, neither sonata nor concerto, is a true duet of artists, that reveals not only the musicians' virtuosity but also their sense of dramatic construction. The young German violinist, who has just celebrated her 23rd birthday, is in my opinion one of the most interesting performers of her generation. The beauty of her ample and melodious sound, the evenness of attack, the technical facility are mind-blowing (époustouflantes). Recordings have shown her to have stunning maturity in interpretations of Bach and Mozart. Today, she has done it again with Pentatone's release of the Tchaikovsky concerto, which shows the same qualities that she displayed on the stage Sunday. [...] Jonathan Gilad, who has youth in common with Julia Fischer -- he is only 25 -- is a pianist with a delicate touch. Discovered by Daniel Barenboim, he already has broad experience and the capacity for listening necessary in these sonatas, where he is unable even to pull the covers over himself. The duo that he forms with the violinist is of a marvelous homogeneity, as proven in an encore performance of a movement from Mozart's Sonata in E. An exceptional concert in this cycle, organized on Sunday mornings at the Châtelet by Janine Roze.

For her latest recording, she collaborates again with conductor Yakov Kreizberg and his Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. This disc is essentially the second volume of a complete set of the Mozart concerti violin, to go along with her 2005 CD of the third and fourth concerti, with the same forces. As such, it competes with another full set of the Mozart concerti released this year, by Anne-Sophie Mutter (reviewed by Jens). For the second installment, Fischer has combined the last of the five, K. 219, with the two minor concerti, nos. 1 and 2 (K. 207 and 211). Just as on the 2005 disc, she has composed her own cadenzas and added her own ornamentation (in the booklet, she shares credit for their composition with Yakov Kreizberg).

Julia Fischer: Mendelssohn, Piano Trios, D. Müller-Schott, J. Gilad (2006) Bach, Partitas/Sonatas (2005) Mozart, Violin Concertos 3/4, NCO, Y. Kreizberg (2005) Russian Violin Concertos: Khachaturian, Glazunov, Prokofiev (2004)

On a purely technical level, Julia Fischer is on par with the more experienced Anne-Sophie Mutter. However, this recording provides what Jens found lacking in Mutter's performances, in which technical flair seemed "blatant and gratuitous virtuosity in a work that has natural beauty to offer" (as Jens described Mutter's reading of no. 4). Fischer's playing is guileless, which is certainly not to say unsensitive or square. The first two concerti -- probably from early 1775 -- reflect the teenage Mozart's experience of traveling in Italy with his father (the last time for Lucio Silla in 1772) and hearing the virtuosic compositional style of Italian violin virtuosi. Kreizberg and Fischer quite rightly chose to match the Baroque qualities of these concertos by performing them with harpsichord (played capably, if almost inaudibly, by Pieter-Jan Belder). Although she had the curiously frustrating opportunity to play Mozart's own violin at the Salzburg Festival this past summer, Julia Fischer's regular instrument these days is of Italian origin, made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini in 1750.

In fact, all of the Mozart concerti are relatively young compositions (although what that really means for a composer who died in his mid-30s, I don't know). The final three concerti were completed as a group in the last few months of 1775. Mozart wrote one more piece featuring solo violin in 1776, the Haffner Serenade (K. 250) and some single movements, probably as alternates for other violinists who wanted to play his previous concerti (the K. 261 slow movement and K. 269 rondo are on Fischer's first Mozart disc). He subsequently turned to writing piano concerti for himself to play. No. 5 is the most extraordinary of the Mozart violin concerti, performed here with the third movement as a truly jovial menuet. (It also happens to be one of the concerti, along with no. 4, whose autograph score is here in Washington, in the collections of the Library of Congress.) That mysterious alla turca middle section in the third movement, complete with folkish drones and janissary col legno strikes, is so odd yet lovely. The Nederlands Kamerorkest provides excellent sound behind Fischer, with strong and graceful playing from all sections. Beautifully recorded, too, this disc is likely to please any and all ears.

PentaTone Classics PTC 5186 094

Julia Fischer will perform the Khachaturian violin concerto in Washington, in a set of concerts with the National Symphony Orchestra, March 15 to 17, 2007. In other American appearances next year, Julia Fischer will play the Mendelssohn violin concerto with Yakov Kreizberg conducting the Cincinnati Symphony (February 9 and 10, 2007), the Beethoven violin concerto with the Pittsburgh Symphony (March 9 to 11, 2007), and the Brahms violin concerto with the New York Philharmonic (April 18 and 19, 2007). Ionarts will travel.

Setting the Perfect Tone: Julia Fischer with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra

Is the region saving up its best musical events for last? In a season that was less exciting across the board than 2004/2005, we just heard the finest opera performance in The Turn of the Screw – and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s current string of concerts with German violinist Julia Fischer delivered easily this season’s best violin concerto performance. It all seems to bode well for the remaining highlights, Kurt Masur’s all-Beethoven concert with the NSO next Thursday and the two Mahler performances of the BSO and NSO the week thereafter.

First things first: Yuri Temirkanov was back after a prolonged (well over half a year), protracted stay in St. Petersburg that apparently included post-Soviet tales of embezzlement, the Russian Mafia, and firing the St. Petersburg Philharmonic’s corrupt administration. (Read Tim Smith’s article in the Baltimore Sun.) He jumped onto the rostrum and, as if possessed, with fresh and raw energy, dove into Carl Maria von Weber’s ebullient Overture to Euryanthe. One got the idea that the BSO might have missed their outgoing music director. The music is itself the utmost of charming Romanticism – light but never smacking of the facile quality that befalls even greater composers (Mendelssohn comes to mind) every once in a while. Expanding from chamber-like moments to the broad and expansive sounds of the, now expanded, explosive opening, this is the kind of music that would charm anyone’s socks off. The BSO didn’t treat it like a throw-away prelude, either but played with zest and great engagement.

Julia Fischer is not one of the teeny-superstars of the violin like, say, Nicola Benedetti or Hilary Hahn, a few years back. For one, Ms. Fischer, born in 1983, is not a teenager. But more importantly, she is building her career judiciously, step by step with great care, some well-applied self-restraint, and what seems an immaculate intellectual grasp. If her bio and recordings (on the audiophile label Pentatone) had not proven it by now, this concert did: she is not a violinist, she is a musician.

Equipped with a prodigious technique (itself being nothing special in these days of violin-athletes), she strikes a marvelous balance between the impressive intellectualism of her senior German violinist colleagues Christian Tetzlaff, Thomas Zehetmaier, and Frank Peter Zimmerman and lyrical élan (well displayed by Hilary Hahn). Her teacher, Ana Chumachenko, may have had a hand in this; the same teacher has also brought us Arabella Steinbacher, another rising violinist from Munich whose career and style are not too dissimilar. (I’ve probably not heard enough of either in concert to truly compare – but from what I have heard, I come away with the impression that Ms. Fischer tends towards the pristine while Ms. Steinbacher is more likely to ‘get dirty’ playing a particular work.)

J. S. Bach, Sonatas & Partitas Glazunov, Khachaturian, Prokofiev, Violin Concertos W. A. Mozart, Violin Concertos

What Julia Fischer chose to play with the BSO was no less a work than the Beethoven concerto: not a razzle-dazzle piece, the flash of which is to blind the audience and stun them into happy submission, but a work that demands foremost a thinking player’s approach, lest it fail to take off. Technical perfection and bravura playing can still produce a dud (as Anne Sofie Mutter has been happy to prove with two recordings) – conception and a sense of the complete work at every instant are more important. With her ability to place emotional peaks into refined playing, with her nicely developing tone – never shy, not too big – Ms. Fischer gave this concerto both: the nobility and excitement it needs without veering either into aloof coldness on one side or showy gypsy fiddling on the other. And while the “Beethoven Concerto against Violin” can take any number of approaches, it is especially allergic to the latter.

Cutting a dashing figure in a very red dress as she did, it was not enough to detract from the sternly delicate, searing Largo, where she made the otherwise middle-of-the run, broad rendition of the work sound very special; nuances well placed called attention to the music, not her. Grace and purity abounded. Under Temirkanov’s caring hands – here was something he visibly cherished doing – the BSO performed this and the cadenza-linked last movement splendidly, even with delicacy when called upon to do so. The ripping finale topped it all off in great style. This was an example of 45 minutes of music-making as it should be – and the audience sensed it: the longest standing ovation and sustained applause (did anyone at all sneak out into intermission?) I have witnessed at Meyerhoff Hall forced an encore out of her: Paganini’s Caprice No. 2 in B Minor; delicately sawed out of the musical material if perhaps not ideally prepared. Secretly, I had hoped for some of her Bach.

Other Reviews: Joe Banno, A Violinist of Promise and Polish (Washington Post, May 27) Tim Smith, Temirkanov's return was worth the wait (Baltimore Sun, May 27) Charles T. Downey, Julia Fischer Gets In On It (DCist, May 27)

Shostakovich’s 1st Symphony does not have a nickname, but if my vote counted, I’d suggest “My Little Bombastic.” Outblaring and outgunning the two successive symphonies, it is a short, blazing trail of fire and brimstone. A student work of the 18-year-old Dmitry, the success of this symphony is not measured by the level of its sophistication (none of his symphonies are, really) or even coherence but by sheer visceral impact. Stravinsky, Mahler, and Prokofiev have their fingerprints on this work, but despite those and the early date of composition, it unmistakably spells out “Shostakovich” at every corner and with surprising clarity. The way that the unrelated themes bully each other around – the limping waltz with flute being rammed off stage by the timpani and brass-driven full orchestral forces only to suddenly make way for calm; then circus music – is Mahler in idea, Prokofiev in sound, Shostakovich in execution.

Anyone looking for particular sense in the way these divergent themes play off or against each other would do better to give up and enjoy the onslaught before the music is over. The symphony does not ask to be understood, it asks to be felt. Especially the haunting Lento, where there is respite found in (hollow?) beauty, a beauty not far from the second movement of the Ravel piano concerto, actually. And with Temirkanov once more leading something dear to his heart, the BSO following most every step of the way, it did make itself felt. A fine nightcap after one of the best Beethoven performances I have heard. So good, indeed, that I shall try to go again today. The third performance, as part of the “Casual Concert” series and without the Shostakovich, will be given on Saturday at 11AM.

Bach's Unaccompanied Violin Bible

Available at Amazon: J. S. Bach, Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo, Gidon Kremer, released October 11, 2005

J. S. Bach, Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo, Julia Fischer, released June 14, 2005

For audiophiles, it's always interesting to listen to the same performer assay an iconic masterwork more than once, although most of us settle on one of their recordings as the best to our ears and listen only to that one. There are more and more cases of great performers recording a piece once as a young person and again after a long career of playing experience, forming two panels of a sonic diptych, as it were. Just as Mischa Maisky did with Bach's unaccompanied cello works, veteran violinist Gidon Kremer has made a second recording of the Bach unaccompanied sonatas and partitas for violin, released this fall. I don't own Kremer's first recording, with Phillips in 1980, although a set of LPs is up for auction right now on eBay. Otherwise, it's rather difficult to find it these days. However, I do have another young violinist's recording of these incredible pieces, Julia Fischer's 2-SA-CD set recorded in The Netherlands in December 2004 and released this summer.

At this point, I would probably listen to Gidon Kremer play anything, but the chance to hear his take on these pieces, perhaps the most important set of six pieces ever written for the violin, is invaluable. I was starting to kick myself for waiting so long to finish this review, but then I stumbled across an interview by Jean-Louis Validire with Gidon Kremer (Gidon Kremer : «Bach est la Bible», November 14) in Le Figaro, of which I can now include a portion. As it turns out, he and his group, Kremerata Baltica, are in Paris, to play a concert at the Châtelet as part of the Etonnante Lettonie festival. The tag line of the interview says everything about Kremer's approach in this recording: "My challenge was to treat Bach as a contemporary composer." The six pieces are the "Bible of music," to which he needed to return "before it was too late. This is the last time I will record them: twice is enough." Here are a few excerpts (my translation):

Under what conditions did you make this recording?

I wanted to make it myself, without any interference from the recording company so that this recording would truly bear my signature. I chose the one in which I had the most confidence, which shared my values [ECM]. I don't want to be treated like a piece of furniture! This is not the narcissistic behavior of someone who wants to appear like a great violinist, but the desire to express this music's profundity. I tried to forget all the other interpretations, to concentrate on the musical problems and also to be loyal to the score and to what is behind it. The spiritual aspect is in effect more important than the violinistic challenges. I didn't think about succeeding, just unleashing my interpretation.

Just what does Bach represent for you?

You are not supposed to pronounced God's name, as it is written in the scriptures, and for me Bach is God. It is obvious that his music is written by someone who came from another planet, but at the same time he is a human being -- let's not forget that he had 23 children! He saw his work as service, and through it he was serving something even greater. My challenge was to treat Bach like a contemporary composer. How it will be judged is not my concern.

The first thing that struck me listening to this recording is the forceful angularity of the playing, which rings very true to the Baroque spirit in my opinion. Kremer makes judgments about voicing and then often uses dynamics and accent to distinguish the voices from one another. In his notes for this recording, Kremer revealed his concept for what he played:

It's a strange thing that I, a violin player, should actually want to "distance" myself from the "tool" of my trade... Has that been an unconscious attempt to get closer to Bach and his universe -- which he was likewise able to convey on a single-voice instrument? Or was the goal that of avoiding the idiom of "beauty" (the familiar misconception: "You must sing on the violin!") in order to dedicate onself to the spirit of the message?

Excessive rubato in this music often mars Bach's vision, at least in my opinion, and that is what makes the rhythmic drive of Kremer's rendition, at times veering almost dangerously toward the precipitous, so addictive. In the three rather different Fuga movements, increasing in length and complexity from BWV 1001 to 1003 to 1005, you have one of the major criteria by which I judge a performance of these works. How to incorporate the contrapuntal lines often merely implied in the multiple-stops is a conundrum, and there are all kinds of possible solutions. Kremer's are the most precisely rhythmic versions of the three fugues I have heard, shorter in duration than any other performer's. That of the first sonata, the only one marked with a tempo (Allegro), is magnificently propelled. To preserve that almost manic pulse, Kremer is often willing to sacrifice beauty of tone, only to the degree necessary without losing what is overall a beautiful performance.

Additional Comments by Jens F. Laurson: Gidon Kremer's recording is to the Sonatas and Partitas what Mischa Maisky's second recording is to the Cello Suites - if less vulgar. Kremer takes to the work very aggressively, but never by sacrificing innate musicality. It is an intelligent but also very personal recording. For fans of Kremer a must, for those who cannot have enough recordings of these works a valuable addition. For the rest of us we'd love to get it as a stocking stuffer - but otherwise Nathan Milstein, Rachel Podger, or Shlomo Mintz's mellifluous account will suffice.

The first recordings of the Bach solo violin works I ever heard were made by Jascha Heifetz and Nathan Milstein, and they are both wonderful listening. Although my tastes have changed, I still indulge the guilty pleasure of listening to them when I can. (I finally wore out the cassette tape copy of the Heifetz Bach that I made as an undergraduate student.) Both of them approached Bach largely through the lens of the 19th century, and when Kremer says that he is trying to treat Bach like a contemporary composer, I think that he means he has tried to play these pieces not like any conception of music from any period, including how we Baroque specialists view the Baroque period. The Romantic legato (the Milstein of his Paganiniana that we heard from Hilary Hahn last weekend) is just one of the concepts that goes out the window.

This does not mean that Kremer never takes liberties, because he does, and some that I don't really understand. At several points in this recording, Kremer reduces his volume to a spidery web of minimal sound, as if he is lost in thought or muttering to himself (at about the 7' mark in the Ciaccona is one particularly beautiful example). As everything Kremer has said publicly about this recording indicates, this performance is intensely personal, which means that it will not appeal to everyone. Along with a couple facsimiles of Bach's manuscript of these works, the CD booklet has several pages of Kremer's personal score, reproduced with the fascinating marks and notes he has made for himself. This goes along with the little notebook of Kremer's thoughts on each piece, which although sincere does not really add to the vision of the performance and may detract from it. One final note about this recording. Kremer laid down the partita tracks in Lockenhaus on September 25 to 29, 2001, that is within two weeks of the terrorist attacks in the United States. He concluded with the sonatas several months later, in March 2002. Although he does not mention those dates in his comments, we all remember what most of the world was feeling in September 2001.

For a consistently beautiful tone production, you would be better off buying the Julia Fischer recording. When I read M. S. Smith's review (Julia Fischer's Solo Bach Is One for the Ages, September 1) on CultureSpace, I set out looking for this recording. When I first started listening to it, I basically agreed with the detractors she imagines in her introduction:

No doubt many of you are wondering whether I should be recording Bach's complete sonatas and partitas at the age of only 21. Perhaps I should have waited a bit longer?

Yes, I thought at first, perhaps she should have. But I kept listening, and the youthful idealism of the recording -- and the rich tone of Fischer's 1750 Guadagnini violin -- hooked me.

Especially in the dance movements of the partitas, I like to hear some attempt to capture the regularity of dance choreography, no matter how stylized and distanced Bach's pieces are from those origins. I feel that there would be no point in including dances to make a suite, if each type of dance were not supposed to evoke a specific character. Musicologists have been attempting to analyze Bach's music in terms of his encyclopedic attempts to create compendia of all available styles, for example, the Brandenburg Concerti as a didactic manual about what is possible and recommended in composing a concerto. In the solo violin works, none of the three partitas is really a traditional suite. (BWV 1004 is the closest, but for the singular Ciaccona, longer than the other four movements combined. It may appear to stick out like a sore thumb, but it is probably there because this is near the midpoint of the six-work cycle, in a position of importance.) This must mean that Bach was trying to show as many different dance characters as he could. The temptation to distort the rhythmic character is strongest in the slower pieces, the two sarabandes, and Fischer yields to this temptation, too, although her fast dances, the Gigues and Correntes, have a pulse that I appreciate.

The final criterion that I use to judge a recording of the solo violin works is that magnificent Ciaccona. If that piece doesn't work, you might as well put the recording back on the shelf. Fischer's Ciaccona is expansive, perhaps a little too syrupy for my taste. At 15'47" her version is longer than Nathan Milstein's gutsy reading (who played the big multiple-stop chords like violent slashes with a sword) by 90 seconds or so. My favorite Ciaconna of the recordings I have been listening to over the past couple weeks is Rachel Podger's reading (a svelte 13'36") on "Baroque violin" (reviewed by Jens in July 2004). In fact, Podger's instrument, a 1739 Pesarinius from Genoa, is only a decade older than Fischer's, but her technique is more Baroque. (In fact, Kremer's violin, the Guarneri del Gesù "Ex-David," was made in 1730, the closest in date to the composition of the Bach solo violin works, in 1720.) I don't necessarily prefer every track on Podger's recording, but I think she has the best approach to Bach. Even in the Ciaccona, where other players afford themselves the most obscene license, there is rhythmic impulse in Podger's reading. (Kremer's Ciaccona clocks in at 13'50", leaning much more toward Podger's concision than Fischer's languor, and is somewhat similar to Milstein's version.)

The length of this review says something about just how important these pieces of music are in my mind. There will probably never be a "perfect" recording of them, because that ideal can only be found on the page of the manuscript, the sketch of a dream in an ambitious young composer's thoughts. In Cöthen, Bach found an employer worthy of his compositional vision, someone who recognized his talents, recompensed him generously, had a good ear, and liked to listen. Sadly, within a year or two of the composition of these idealistic works for solo violin, their relationship was spoiled by the intrusion of a spouse with a much poorer ear. Fortunately for us, Bach went on to another position, in Leipzig, that had its own faults and challenges but that led him into yet another area of composition, no less important.